Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

downshifting

British  
/ ˈdaʊnˌʃɪftɪŋ /

noun

  1. the practice of simplifying one's lifestyle and becoming less materialistic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The key here is to define what downshifting actually looks like.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 4, 2026

Instead of mentally downshifting for something easy like data entry, which can often be performed by AI, workers may now be expected to focus intensely through longer stretches of data analysis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026

Laura Epstein Scully, once a corporate “worker bee,” enjoyed downshifting in retirement and taking a “mañana attitude.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2024

Pandya said he would watch whether holiday season shoppers on Monday would continue "downshifting to cheaper goods" in categories, a pattern he noticed earlier this year.

From Reuters ● Nov. 27, 2023

You could literally see her downshifting from the fastest to the slowest.

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Just like flashcards, but way more fun

Don't take our word for it. Leave the boring studying behind and join VocabTrainer today. You'll learn even faster and never look back.

Take me to Vocabulary.com